The Rising Darkness
by Jango27
Summary: "It had been months since he'd had a night's sleep without jerking awake with images of the faces of betrayed friends seared into his memory and their screams dying in his ears." Ward is given the opportunity to make things right with the team. Redemption fic 'cos I will forever stand by Skyward. Hopefully better than it sounds.
1. Chapter 1

He was lying on his back on the rough canvas mattress. Just lying. The guards that check up on him hourly swear that he sleeps most of the day away, but that wasn't true. In fact it had been months since he'd had a night's sleep without jerking awake with images of the faces of betrayed friends seared into his memory and their screams dying in his ears (_wait, Ward, look at me! I know that you care about us Ward!)_. In the end, it had become a lot easier to just lie on this suspiciously smelling bed, trying not to think about what had got him here. Trying not to think about _her._

Food and water were given to him regularly, and when he didn't eat it, drip fed from an IV while his wrists were handcuffed to the bed to stop him ripping it out. But as it had occurred to him while he was sitting in his cell; it takes more than that to keep someone alive once they've lost the will to live. That's where Doctor Sutherland came in. That short, wisp of a woman with the oversized glasses and straight brown bob that only encouraged his stereotypes for shrinks, had become as integral to his recovery as the drugs she prescribed. But even that combined effort couldn't take away his feelings of rising darkness.

Which was why he was so surprised when _she_ came to visit.

Ward didn't know how long it was before he became aware that there was someone in his cell. Minutes, hours maybe. The only way he had to tell time was the meals which were bought three times a day. He remained quiet, giving no indication of their presence. He only knew one person who could move so silently, and she certainly wouldn't be the one to talk first. Leave it to the Cavalry to keep her pride in a place like this.

"Come to watch me wither away, May?" He said after a few more moments of silence.

She didn't react to the croak in his voice, the resulting combination of his recently healed throat and lack of use. She crossed her arms and continued glare impassively down at him.

"Or maybe you're here to finish the job," he continued. He sat up, swinging his legs to the floor and bared his hands to show he was unarmed. "Go ahead. We both know you're not above killing in cold blood."

"No, I'm not," She said silently, "but I don't believe in killing things that are already broken."

"Then why are you here?" he asked, confused at her intentions.

"Your therapist has requested a change in scene. Thought that you might recover faster in a familiar environment."

"And they requested the team," he finished simply. "I'm surprised you care, Agent May. Somehow I doubt I'll receive a warm welcoming back at the Bus. "

She smiled thinly. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I care, Ward. My concern for you vanished the instant you decided to spare Garret. But I'm under orders from the Director, and he thinks you deserve this chance. I respect him enough to trust his opinion."

Ward couldn't contain his shock. "The Director? Fury's dead, May. If there's one thing I know on this godforsaken earth, it's that."

She chuckled darkly. "Then you know nothing, Ward. It's been three months, things have changed."

Ward stood up, slowly walking over to her. His eyes, once so expressionless, were dancing with a barely contained intensity. "And you, Agent May? Have you changed?"

To the everlasting credit of Melinda May, she didn't flinch or crumble under his piercing gaze. Instead she stared up at him defiantly and spoke with a voice filled with malice. "We all changed. No one goes through what you did to us and isn't different at the end of it. But I have people to fight for now, people I care about. So let's get one thing straight, Ward. Coulson may be giving you a second chance, but I'm not. You almost killed Fitzsimmons. You all but broke Skye. If you do anything which in anyway hurts them, I am going to _kill_ you. Do we have an understanding?"

There was a time when Ward would've answered back, saying something along the lines of 'you could try' or returning with some quip of his own. But now he was a broken man who had nothing left to live for, although his heart had beat faster at the mention of a certain name. And May was offering him hope. She was offering him _Skye_.

He nodded once. "We have an understanding."

Ward heard a metallic click. Looking down, he saw a thick band of metal circling his wrist: a tracking bracelet, similar to the one that Skye had worn after the incident with Miles. The irony of the situation didn't escape him.

He looked back up, but May had already moved away, almost at the door. "Why'd you think I'd say yes?" he blurted out.

May paused, but didn't turn around. When she spoke her voice was silent, almost impossible to hear, but yet her words resonated through the cold room. "They're coming for Skye. You know who I'm talking about. I despise you, Ward. Your very presence on that plane is going to undo everything that we've tried to rebuild. I don't trust you with that girl, but I trust that you'll want to help keep her alive."

With that final word, she exited the room, leaving the door open behind her.

Ward continued to stare at the open doorway long after she'd gone. The tracker hung heavy around his wrist, but his mind was heavier. It wasn't freedom, not by a long shot, but it was a chance for him to be able to protect the people he cared about, even if they hated him. And even if what he was protecting them from was himself. He wouldn't be seeking forgiveness. Hell, he didn't think that there could be forgiveness for the things he had done. But maybe he could make them see- not why he had done the things he did, there were no excuses for that- but what had influence him from the start, his past that made him the person he was now.

There wasn't really a choice, May had known that the minute she walked through the door, so without a backward glance at the place that had been his prison for three months, Ward followed her out the door and into the outside light.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, thanks for being so patient for an update and for taking the time to read and review :) Just finished exam week, so hopefully I'll be able to update a lot faster now. I kinda have an idea where this story is going, but if you have any ideas or requests, please let me know! It might be a bit slow for now, but the next chapters should be a little more intense as we get further into the story. **

**Anyway, you guys know how it works. I don't own Agents of Shield or any of its characters. **

* * *

Chapter two)

Ward wasn't surprised to find that May hadn't waited for him so they could return to the Bus together. He doubted she had the restraint to last an entire car ride without throttling him. Instead, he caught a ride in the back of a van with three burly men eyeing him with a serious gaze, all armed to the teeth. It was probably meant to make him nervous or intimidated, but Ward hardly noticed. His mind was abuzz with the sudden change in events. He had been resigned to spending the remainder of his life in that cell, living his days in isolation until Doctor Sutherland had pronounced him cured and he was moved to another, possibly less secure, prison. But now he was on the way back to the people he had given up any hope at seeing again, and he couldn't help but feel _relieved_. He had spent days on end imagining what his reunion with the team would be like if he ever got the opportunity to talk to them again; he had torn his hair out trying to think what their reactions would be. And now, finally, he would see.

So, In the back of a van, with three agents imagining different ways in which to kill him and a tracking bracelet recording his every move, Grant Ward found himself feeling lighter than he had in years.

* * *

Coulson watched Skye attack the punching bag with a single-minded determination. He was leaning on the railing of the metal catwalk which overlooked the makeshift training area; just watching, not commenting on the fact that she's been hitting the bag for over an hour and each time her punches are getting wilder and wilder as her strength diminishes. He knows that this is the best outlet for her emotions, the best way to stay ahead of the memories that had been haunting them all for the past few months.

As much as it hated Coulson to admit it, Skye had changed. She was no longer the bubbly young girl that had hacked her way into SHIELD. She was tougher, ruthless and, if her attack against the punching bag was any indication, becoming quite a lethal agent. _A lot like May, actually, _Coulson thought with a faint sense of sadness. Skye had also become fiercely protective of Fitzsimmons, to the point where she would glare at even Coulson if she thought he would upset the two scientists.

Ward's betrayal had been devastating for them all. May had become even more closed off and distant, not letting her guard down with anyone except the team, with possibly the exception of Trip, who had silently replaced Ward's position of the operative on the Bus. Simmons still had that haunted look in her eyes, and jumped whenever a door slammed shut. And Fitz… Fitz had become distant- not cold exactly, but quieter and less confident than he had been before the accident.

To the extent of Coulson's knowledge, Ward's name hadn't been uttered by any one of them, and yet they he knew they were still being haunted by it. How could you not when such an integral member of the team turns out to be so completely different?

Not for the first time, Coulson found himself questioning himself about letting a _certain person _back on the bus.

"So, how long are you planning on creepy-stalker-staring at me for?"

Coulson is dragged out of his thoughts by Skye's voice and once more focuses his attention on her. She hasn't stopped hitting the bag, and her back is still to him. It's a wonder then, really, how she knew he was there. He gives a small smile. _'Definitely like May_'

"Undetermined," he says, slowly making his way down the spiral staircase and over to Skye. "How long were you planning on beating up that bag for?"

"Undetermined," she replies with a wry smile. "I would've thought the Director of this fine agency would have better things to do than oversee some rookie's training." She puts on a posh accent when she addresses him.

"You're not just some agent Skye," he says seriously, "you're part of my team. And we look after our own." He puts his hands in his pockets. "Besides, it's not like you're a rookie anymore. You've seen enough action to put some level 5 agents to shame."

"Huh," she scoffs, "well-it-came-at-a-damn-high-price." She punches the bag with every word before giving it a final resounding kick that makes it swing precariously on its chain. She turns to face him, brushing some of her hair off her face. "And I don't think getting shot is something to be proud of."

He looks at her, taking in the dark circles like bruises under her eyes and the slight trembling in her limbs. Since when had she stopped sleeping well? "I didn't mean getting shot," he says quietly.

Skye didn't answer, just continued staring at him for a few more seconds before crossing the room and ripping off the strapping on her hands. "Where did May go? I saw her leave a couple of hours ago."

"She should be back soon," Coulson answered evenly. He couldn't lie to Skye, especially about something to do with Ward. She would know about May soon enough.

Fortunately, Skye accepted his answer without suspicion, which really just made him feel worse, and grabbed a drink bottle before moving towards the stairs, thoroughly intent to spend the next hour in a nice hot shower. "Skye," he called out. She looked over her shoulder. "You should get some sleep; take it easy for a bit. Don't make me use my Director status and order you." She nodded, giving a small smile, and disappeared upstairs.

Coulson stood silently after she had gone, clenching and unclenching his fingers while he tried to convince himself that bringing Ward back would help. His mind wondered back the image that had been haunting him for the past week, the thing which had resulted in him making such a drastic decision; a security image of Skye's bunk, with her sleeping peacefully curled in the blankets.

A single sentence accompanied the photo, one which on sight had sent ice down Coulson's spine.

It simply read _'are you watching closely?'_

The message had been emailed to his private account and, even with Coulson using SHIELD's extensive list of computer experts and technology, was completely untraceable. Whoever had sent it had unchartered access into SHIELD feeds, not to mention the ability to hack into the Bus's security. Following an unbearable week of investigation which had turned up no leads, he and May had become desperate, turning to the one person who might have any idea who was threatening the hacker.

Apart from May, no one on the Bus had any clue that this was happening. To them, they saw the break in missions and constant changing flight destinations as a well-deserved holiday rather than a tactical effort to protect Skye. He hated lying to them, but the team had barely recovered from Hydra's infiltration, and now it seemed there was an even bigger threat out there. He'd wanted to protect them for as long as possible. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible.

He looked up at the sound of a car approaching, and watched as May pulled up in a black van and hopped out, slamming the door behind her. She said nothing as she approached Coulson, merely giving him a stiff nod and pressing the small box which had held a tracking bracelet into his hands before disappearing up the steps Skye had exited up.

He only had to wait a few more minutes before a second, practically identical van arrived, and a slightly disheveled Ward climbed out and approached the plane's open door slowly. Coulson took in his appearance, everything from the way his clothes seemed to hang off his frame, to the look in his eyes that could only be described as nervousness, something Coulson had never expected to see in the other man. He knew he cut an intimidating figure, with his dark suit and expressionless face, he'd chosen to wear his reflective glasses this morning for exactly this reason, and he felt a grim sense of achievement at the sight of the apprehensiveness on Ward's face.

Ward wasted no time, talking the moment Coulson was within hearing range. "May said they were coming for Skye?"

Coulson kept his face expressionless, something he had perfected over the years. "Someone hacked into the Bus's feed. Sent us a message along with a picture of Skye sleeping."

Ward felt faintly sick. "You haven't traced it?"

"Impossible. Whoever sent it has the most advanced technology we've seen. We need you to tell us who it might be."

Ward gave a slight nod, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Coulson-"

"How many times did May threaten to kill you?"

Ward laughed once, a harsh and unnatural sound. "Only once. Quite disappointing really."

"Then I don't need to tell you what the consequences will be if anyone on my team gets hurt again."

The smirk died on Ward's face. _My team. Not our team, not your team. You don't belong here anymore. _He cleared his throat. "No sir." He motioned towards the bracelet around his wrist. "I didn't see this coming, though. Don't think I'm quite as likely to hack something as Skye was."

"I told May to give you that. But don't worry, it's an updated version of the one Skye had. You might find trying to get into a few areas a bit difficult."

Ward looked at him blankly. "May said the Director gave her orders?"

Coulson gave a cold smile. "Exactly," he said, turning and making his way deeper into the Bus.

Ward took a deep breath, trying to slow the racing beat of his heart and swirling thoughts in his head, mentally preparing himself for the reactions of the remaining members of his old team.

* * *

**So, please tell me what you guys think! Any thoughts of yours are truly appreciated. This chapter didn't turn out exactly how I'd hoped, but well, its my first fanfic so I'm hoping my writing might improve with time. Next chapter we'll see Ward meeting the rest of the team, as well as getting deeper into the story. Exciting stuff...**

**Anyways, thanks heaps guys, **

**-F**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys :) So here's the next chapter. Sorry it took a while, but its a bit longer than the others so hopefully it'll make up for it. Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read and/or review, it helps a lot! Anyways, again, this chapter didn't turn out exactly how I'd planned 'cos it was taking too long and I just kinda wanted to get it out there. So some of the things I'd had planned will come around next chapter, so please stay tuned!**

Chapter three)

Overall, Skye didn't end up spending as long as she'd hoped for in the shower. Although she could've easily spent the whole afternoon under the scalding water, she had things to do. Seeing Coulson earlier had only confirmed her suspicions that he was keeping something from her, something big.

Nevertheless, she took her time washing her hair, getting changed, grabbing a small bite of breakfast before making her way downstairs to the lab. She didn't see Coulson on her way, supposedly he was back in his office, researching into whatever had been troubling him for the past week, or doing some other important Director stuff. She grabbed her laptop on the way; if Coulson was distracted it would be a good opportunity for her to look into what he was working on lately. Maybe if she could get into the Bus's communication logs she could at least see who and what he was talking about.

She walked into the lab, and was immediately met with Simmons's startled yell of "Skye, don't move!" Skye froze, just as a huge bang sounded and a small projectile hurtled past her and embedded itself deep into the chest of a manikin a few feet away from where she was standing. She jumped back, swearing loudly, and turned to glare at the two scientists as they emerged from behind a clear, plastic screen.

"If you guys don't want me in here you could-you know- just tell me. No need to kill me," she accused angrily.

"Sorry, Skye," Simmons said as her and Fitz rushed past to check on the manikin. "But this wouldn't have killed you. Quite fascinating really, it uses small pin of ionized metal to release an electromotive force emanating from the contact site which renders the victim into a temporary state of-"

"Sounds great, Gem, but next time could ya give me a warning before I'm impaled on sight? Maybe put up a sign on the door or something?"

Simmons gives her a small smile before turning to Fitz, who's extracted a pretty lethal looking needle from the dummy and is examining its tip with safety gloves. "What do you think Fitz? Did ionizing the metal affect the flight path at all?"

Fitz grunts, not taking his eyes off his work. "Doesn't appear so, but we should try increasing the centripetal force in the barrel to make it rotate through the air more." He moves behind the screen without a backward glance and starts furiously typing away at the monitor.

Simmons sighs. "Fitz, it hit the target dead on. It doesn't need any more-"

"And I still don't think we should be designing an electromotive gun. The night-night bullets do exactly the same thing and I don't see the point in designing another disarming weapon. SHIELD needs weapons to _kill_, not to make the enemy drop their bloody gun."

Skye found herself wishing she had walked in a few minutes later, just so she didn't have to see the look of shock on Simmons's face. She came to Gemma's help.

"Fitz," Skye started, "you shouldn't-"

He rounded on her. "What? You're honestly saying that you wouldn't shoot to kill if Ward came around that corner right now?" She wasn't used to the look of anger on Fitz's face. "Oh that's right, you had the chance, _and you didn't take it._"

Skye inhaled sharply, a mixture of pain and anger rendering her speechless. The events three months ago had become a sort of taboo on the Bus. If you didn't talk about it, you could pretend it didn't happen, as best as you could. It had taken time, but they had all gotten used to the absence of the man that had been such an integral part of their team. There were still times though when Skye's mind was left reeling, when she woke up screaming and shaking after nightmares of Ward killing Coulson and May, or Fitzsimmons and Trip. Those were the times when she threw herself into her work, either spending hours on her laptop or kicking the hell out of a punching bag, desperately trying to lose herself in the monotonous comfort of routine.

Surprisingly, it was usually May who broke her out of these moods, gently but firmly pushing her away from the computer screen or training area, bandaging her hands when they bled from the continuous exercise or simply encouraging her to eat or sleep more.

And now, again, Skye found it was May who came to her rescue.

"Well, this argument couldn't have come at a better time," her voice rang out through the lab. Fitz, startled, took an unsteady step backward, blinking quickly as if waking up, and looked towards the door, where the senior agent was standing watching the scene play out in front of her. "Coulson wants us in the lounge," she added. "You might want to leave the gun behind."

* * *

"_Ward's here?!"_

Fitz's harsh voice rang through the room. Seated on one of the coaches, Skye shifted even closer to Gemma, who had noticeably flinched at the anger in Fitz's voice, and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. She looked up, taking in May's stoic face. Her and Coulson were doing a good job at hiding their expressions, she supposed they'd had enough time to thoroughly prepare for any reactions that the team could have. Fitz was simply living up to their expectations.

To find out that the man that had betrayed them all was back in their lives again, currently sitting in their interrogation cell, had hit them all hard. The only outward sign Trip had shown were his fingers slowly curling into fists. Simmons had shrunk, her eyes glazing over slightly as she lost herself in memories. Skye was left to comfort her, pushing aside her own shock as she desperately focused on her friend.

Fitz paced around the room, hands clenching his hair. "You've bought him back to the very place where he dropped me and Simmons into the ocean? Of course you did, he was always one of your favorites, another one of those people you thought you could 'fix.' _This_ obviously wasn't a very thorough job, was it?" He gestured to the small scar on his temple, the only physical reminder of what had transpired three months ago.

Coulson still looked relatively impassive. "Every situation has been considered. The safety of the team is my ultimate priority, but Ward's doctors have thought that his recovery has been adequate for him to be integrated back into a familiar environment."

"Why not put him in a watertight container and drop him to the bottom of the ocean, see if that's familiar enough for him."

Coulson's jaw clenched, the only sign that Fitz's words were affecting him. "Every precaution has been taken. Ward seems to have shown genuine repentance for what he has done, and I'm not in the business of denying him a chance of redemption." His eyes find Skye's. "It wouldn't be the first time we gave someone a second chance."

Fitz rounds on him. "This isn't some teenage boyfriend drama. This is _Ward._ You're bringing a killer back into our lives, or are you too bloody caught up in your new found Director status to realise that?"

"Enough!" Coulson shouted. He took a breath. "I understand your concern, Fitz. Out of everyone you have the most right to feel concerned. But I am still your boss and it's up to me to make these decisions. Ward's changed. I understand if you don't see that but I'm asking you to respect it." He turned towards where Simmons and Skye were sitting shell-shocked on the couch. "If you want to see Ward, he's in the interrogation room until we can find a more suitable location. May will oversee any and all interactions." And with a final nod, he turned and walked towards his office.

There was a ringing silence after he left, in which everyone tried to comprehend this new change. The only sound was Fitz's deep breaths, and even that disappeared when Fitz moved, quickly making his way out of the room. Simmons made to follow him, until Skye put a gentle hand on her shoulder and said "let him go, Gem. He needs time to get a grip on things. We all do."

* * *

Ward sat at the plain metal table. He didn't fidget or complain. During his time in his cell silence had been his only constant companion, so in a way being alone again gave him a sense of relief and comfort in this otherwise unconventional day.

He was expecting someone, but still it surprised him that it was Fitz that came to see him first.

Fitz burst into the room, slamming the door open. His breaths were fast and panicked, his hair sticking up unruly. Seeing the young scientist again made guilt twist at Ward's heart but at the same time sent a surge of relief through his had been told numerous times that despite his injures, he was fine. But it was something Ward needed to see with his own eyes. _He was alright. He wasn't dead._ Out of the corner of his eye he saw May slip in silently behind Fitz.

"Fitz-" Ward started.

And Fitz- Fitz, who swooned at the sight of blood, who had once had a lengthy argument with Ward about the merits of violence when intellect could be used so much more efficiently- Fitz strode crossed the room and punched him across the face. Red crackled across his vision as his nose flared up in pain. When he could see again, Fitz was still standing in front of him, wearing a look of shock that Ward was sure was mirrored on his own face. It would've almost been a funny situation if it wasn't for the anger and pain in the scientists eyes.

"Fitz," Ward struggled out again.

"If you ever hurt Gemma again, I'll kill you, I swear to God. You coward." Then he turned his back and went out the door, pushing past May on the way.

Blood streamed down into Ward's mouth. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. "You didn't stop him," he says quietly to May.

She lifts one eyebrow. "Neither did you," she replies simply.

* * *

The blood has dried on his face by the time Simmons comes in, but the pain's still there, a constant thumping pressure against his head. As such it was only May clearing her throat repeatedly that alerted him to Simmons's presence in the room.

"Fitz said he hit you," she says quietly, standing awkwardly by the door. "I bought you some painkillers." She places them as well as a bottle of water on the table, reluctant to get any closer that necessary to him. He reaches out for them slowly, cautious as to not startling her. Fear is practically radiating off the girl and he can feel May staring daggers at him from the corner.

He swallows the pills and takes several large gulps of the water to wash them down, realizing only then that it's the first drink he's had all day. He nods gratefully at Simmons and sets down the bottle with a small sigh. "If it's worth anything," he says hesitantly, "Hearing that you and Fitz were alive was the best thing I've heard in my life."

Simmons sucks in a breath, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She had expected an apology, maybe, something which tried to excuse or explain his actions. But the Ward in front of her seemed so different from the one prepared to kill her a few months ago that her mind was left reeling. "No," she says desperately. "You're lying. You're a liar. You're just going to betray us like you did before!" He opens his mouth to answer, but she shouts "No, NO! Don't say anything. I don't want to hear anything more!" She runs from the room before he can get another word in.

Ward slumps in his chair, feeling utterly drained. It would be a long time before he could begin to talk normally with his old team.

* * *

Skye was sitting on her bed when Coulson knocked on her door, staring intently at her laptop screen. "You haven't been to see Ward yet," he says gently.

She didn't look up at him. "Well, doing that would defeat the purpose of avoiding him so…"

"You can't avoid someone forever. Eventually you're going to have to talk to him."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a big plane, AC, a girl can try. And," she looks up at him and its only then that he sees the cold anger in her eyes. "While we're on the topic of not talking, when were you going to tell me about this?" She swivels her laptop around so he can see what she had been working on. Somehow, despite all of his attempts to keep it from her, Skye had managed to find the image threatening her and was glaring up at him with such betrayal that it made his heart clench. "What the _hell _is this, Coulson, and why didn't I know about it before? And don't you dare say some crap like 'you didn't know how to tell me.'"

Coulson stepped into the room, closing the door carefully behind him, and makes his way over to where she's sitting. He gently shuts her laptop screen. He's seen enough of that damn photo. He takes her hand, and is gratified when she doesn't pull away. "Listen to me, Skye. I'm sorry. I truly am. I should've told you about it, but we didn't know what _it_ was. I wanted to know something more before I presented you with another unsolvable mystery."

"But you don't know anything."

"No, it's impossible. The entirety of SHIELD's operatives couldn't find where it came from.

"But its sick, AC! They have a picture of me _sleeping_! What else could they get into?" A look of horror passed over her face. "Do we have security cameras in the shower?"

"I know, believe me, I know." He gripped her hands tightly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner. But I wanted to protect you and I don't know what I'm protecting you from. I'm sorry."

Skye nodded once, thoughtfully. Biting her lip, she said hesitantly. "I might know someone who could help, this is his sort of his style," she gave sort of grimace, "but you aren't gonna like it."

"Skye," he replied seriously, "if whoever this is can make sense of this, if they might know anything, I wouldn't care if it was Miles. So how can we contact him?"

Skye didn't answer.

"Its Miles, isn't it?"

She nodded again, a hint of a smile playing over her lips. He sighed. _Of course it is_. "I'll tell May to change course to Hong Kong. He couldn't have gotten far when we left him stranded in a foreign country with no money."

Coulson stands up and turns to leave. He's at the doorway when he stops and turns back. "Skye," he calls, "I'm not saying you should forgive Ward, but… hear him out. He hasn't had it easy. Please just… think about it."

And just before he leaves, so softly he almost didn't hear it, she said sadly "I always do."

**Couldn't resist adding in some Skyward there at the end (don't worry guys, they'll be plenty of interaction there next chapter, mwah ha ha) So, please tell me what you guys thought of this chapter. Please!**

**I don't speak science, so all the terms that Fitzsimmons speak are random words I know from physics, so I'm truly sorry if they don't make any sense :p**

**Anyho, thanks again for taking the time to read!**

**-F**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hehe, really sorry bout the insanely long time it took me up update. Things are getting hectic with school over here and I hardly had any time to write or anything. Thanks to anyone and everyone that took the time to read and review or provide any feedback, I appreciate everything you guys say! **

Chapter four)

Fitz was tapping furiously at the holograph screen when Jemma walked into the command room. He didn't say anything as she approached, merely looked up and appraised her with wary eyes before focusing on his work again. It wasn't exactly a welcome, but she would take it anyway. She walked cautiously over towards the table and watched as he flicked through designs and blueprints at a dizzying speed.

Being together with him, looking through plans that they had wanted to make, she could almost imagine that they were back at the academy; the place where the only thing they had to worry about was staying ahead of the other students, when they felt like they had the whole world at their fingertips and the only limit was their own imagination. She envied the people they had been then, but at the same time saw them as ignorant and naïve. Who were they to believe themselves any different from the rest of the world? Sure, they might have higher IQ's, but they could still be hurt, they could still be betrayed. And, as they had recently learnt, they could almost certainly be killed.

"You know what the worst thing was, Jem?" Fitz said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "When we were locked in that pod, watching Ward about to pull that lever that dropped us to the bottom of the ocean; do you know what I couldn't get out of my head?"

Simmons shook her head slowly. There was a fierce ferocity in Fitz's eyes that made her wary, almost scared. This was the person he had been right after their accident, when anger drove his every move and the only person he allowed near him was her and Skye, because in his mind only they couldn't have foreseen this betrayal.

"The worst thing," he continued shakily, "was how helpless I was. We could've died in that box, suffocated or starved to death. And he was standing there with his hand on that lever and he wouldn't look at us and _I couldn't do anything to stop him_."

And then suddenly all the anger disappeared and his body seemed to fold on itself until all that was left was the crumpled form of a broken boy. Jemma was immediately at his side, holding and comforting him even as her own tears threatened to fall. She whispered soothing words into his ear as he fell apart on her shoulder.

"Shh, Fitz, its fine, we're fine-"

"No we're not,"

"We _are_, Fitz. You got us out. _You _saved us, both of us. We're alive and together, that's all that matters."

She continued to comfort him as he sobbed dejectedly into her shoulder. At one point Trip walked into the control room but, upon seeing the two scientists, promptly backtracked so fast he almost ran into the wall.

Eventually Fitz pulled back from her arms, and took her face between his hands so he was staring down into her eyes. He hadn't always been taller than her; it was only in the last couple or so years that he had actually grown much and he had made such an ecstatic fuss about it, it'd been impossible to be around him without hearing a dwarf joke (to which she'd usually respond with a reference to leprechauns) every five minutes. But Jemma didn't mind, not really.

"You've always been the strong one, Jem," he said softly, looking deeply into her brown eyes. She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "No, it's true. You always have been, and I never minded, because you're amazing, Jem, and there's no one else in the world I love more." A shadow passed over his face. "But in that situation I should've been stronger."

His eyes found the floor; he can't face the trust in her eyes. And so he doesn't see her slap coming until his face suddenly _burns_ and his ears are ringing. He stared at her, more shocked than angry. "Did you just _hit_ me?"

Her eyes blazed fiercely. "You were being an asshole."

He smiled slightly. "You've never said that before. Skye's being a bad influence on you."

"Don't blame Skye for this. And don't you dare blame yourself." She stepped even closer to him and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him lightly. "We're here, Leo Fitz, we're alive _because of you_. There is no other person alive who I would've rather been stuck in there with. You, not me, got us out. Without you, we wouldn't've survived. Without you no one would've known we were stuck down there and our bodies would've slowly decayed to dust. Without you-" her voice cracked and she collapsed into Fitz's chest, her face buried in his thick jumper so that her next words are slightly muffled. "Without you I wouldn't know who I was anymore."

Fitz's breath caught in his throat. He gathered her in his arms and plants a long kiss on the top of her head and together they clutch each other like the two remaining survivors of an apocalypse. They stood there for... forever, it seems. They only moved when May appeared in the doorway and told them that they will be arriving in 20 minutes and to get down to the cargo bay for briefing in 5. But even then they didn't pull apart; they followed her walking hand-in-hand, together, the way they always did.

* * *

_In his dreams Ward is teetering on the edge of a circular hole in the ground, staring deep down into the shadowy depths. The echoing splashes of water are punctuated by the sobs and panicked breaths as Skye begs him to do something, to help her. Her heavy gasps bounce of the rocky walls and he can hear fear heavy on her voice as she desperately tries to keep her head above the water. He could help her, he could save her, he just needs to move. But all he does is stand there listening as the screams from below slowly die out and the only noise are the gentle drips as the water laps the side of the well. Then suddenly Garret is there, clapping him on the shoulder and giving him a crooked smile. "Good job, kid," he says. "you did good." And Grant's trying to remember the colour of Skye's eyes or the way it felt to run his hands through her hair but all of that is fading away as swiftly as water falls through fingertips and the only memory he has left of her is the trust in her eyes as she says softly "you're not a bad man, Grant." But that doesn't matter anymore because she's gone and Garret's hand is still on his shoulder, firmly pulling him away and no matter what Skye tells him, the only good thing he ever had in his life was her and she's gone, she's gone, and-_

He jerked awake with a gasp.

It took him more than a few seconds to slow his racing heart and swirling panic inside his head and even more to realise that May stood in front of him with her arms crossed against her chest and a slim eyebrow quirked.

He sighed and wiped a hand across his eyes. "Don't ask," he said quietly.

"That would imply caring," she said in a neutral voice. "Your services are required in the cargo bay. Now." And then she added quietly "don't muck this up, Ward."

Still feeling slightly numb to the situation, Ward stood up and followed the older agent towards the end of the bus. His heart picked up with every step he took, because he knew that if Coulson needed him it meant that there had been a lead on whoever had sent the photo of Skye, and he couldn't help but feel that every movement bought him closer to the girl who had haunted his dreams for so long.

He had no idea how she would react, if she would punch him on sight like Fitz or follow May's lead and act with indifference. But yet again, it was Skye, and whatever she did would be sure to surprise him. She always had.

The cargo bay went silent as he walked in. Fitzsimmons, in the middle of setting up the communication, froze with matching expressions of apprehension. In the dead silence, Trips let out an appreciative whistle. "Damn Fitz, where did you learn to throw a punch like that? That's a shiner Ward's got." Fitz gave a small smile.

"I taught him."

Ward's breath hitched, because there she was, coming down the spiraling stairs towards them. His deprived eyes drank in the sight of her. She had cut her hair shorter, so it flowed in loose curls to partway below her shoulders but apart from that she looked no different to when he had last seen her months ago. But even has he looked he realised that that wasn't exactly true was it? Skye had changed. There was a new look in her eyes which he hadn't seen before, one that said she'd seen the darkness the world contained and been changed in the process. Dark smudges coloured the area below her eyes and, he realised with a twinge of concern, she appeared to have lost several pounds since he had last seen her. With an ICER tucked into the waistband of her jeans, she looked older, tougher. Inside he mourned for the loss of innocence she had once possessed and hated himself for the part he had played in that. They all waited with a bated breath for her reaction...

Turns out he needn't have worried; she didn't look at him. She kept her eyes fixed on Fitzsimmons and made her way quickly over to where they were, not once acknowledging his presence. Huh, pretending he was invisible. Somehow that hurt even more.

"Sorry I'm late, but you won't believe what I just found on yout-" she stopped at the pointed glance from Coulson. "Sorry."

Ward held back a snort, because her entry was so completely _Skye_ that it was hard not to laugh- he managed it, though, with a sharp glare from May, and even though he could've spent hours reveling in the fact that Skye was standing metres away from him, Ward forced himself to return his attention to the matter at hand.

"Right," Coulson was saying. "I know most of you will be confused as to why we've landed in Hong Kong."

_'Hong Kong?' _Ward thought to himself, '_What possible lead could have bought us to Japan?'_. He didn't have good memories of this place. The last time the Bus had bought them here was when Skye had betrayed them for Miles. He remembered the hurt he had felt when she had helped him, her oldest friend from the Rising Tide, over her team. How ironic it was that they would return here with such a completely different situation.

"The truth is," Coulson continued, "we haven't been very honest with you. A week ago, this photo was sent to SHIELD's private files. " He tapped a remote in his hand and an image appeared on the glass screen behind him. It was a grainy shot of one of the bunk rooms on the Bus, Skye's, by the look of the clothes strewn all over the floor. And that meant that the figure sleeping on the bed…

Ward sucked in a breath when he read the caption that accompanied the photo and the full horror of the situation hit him. _'Are you watching closely?'. _Coulson had briefly told him earlier about the image that had been sent to him, but seeing it firsthand made it that much worse.

"Oh, Skye," Jemma said anxiously, concern for her friend plastered over her face.

Coulson was still talking in a commendably level voice. "We have no idea who sent it. All attempts by SHIELD intel have come up with nothing. Whoever it is we can assume as the ability to hack into the Bus's mobile feed and leave no trace. The reason we arrived here is because Skye believes there's someone who can help us."

Silence remained his only reply. Ward figured this was new information only for Fitzsimmons, and the two scientists seemed to be busy processing this sudden new threat.

In an attempt to ease the tension in the room, Skye gave a forced smile and said "but hey, we don't know it's about me, right? For all we know, they could've been trying to catch a look at Trip in the shower." She elbowed the taller agent playfully in the stomach. Everyone gave her a skeptical look, and she sighed in defeat.

"Who's this person we're picking up?" Fitz asked Coulson.

The Director gave a tense smile. "Miles Lydon." He was met with an array of shocked faces, all except Skye, who had a slightly awkward look on her face and May, who was as impassive as usual.

Ward's mind was in turmoil. They were bringing Miles into this? The man who had literally sold out another person to be tested on and killed? Not to mention how he had lied to Skye's face. Ward opened his mouth to voice his displeasure- and was interrupted by Skye's angry snarl. "You got a problem with that, Ward? Are you such a hypocrite as to actually disagree with bringing back someone who lied to us?"

That, and the barely suppressed fury in her brown eyes, was enough to shut him up, but at least she had finally acknowledged he was there.

Coulson was flicking from one person to the other like an interesting tennis match. "Great," he said, "now we've got that reunion sorted. Fitzsimmons, you'll remain on the Bus. We need you monitoring any surveillance cameras surrounding Miles address. He has no idea we're coming, but we need eyes on him at all times. Trip, you'll stay with them. May, Ward and I will take Skye to bring Miles in."

"With all due respect, Sir," Trip asked, "shouldn't Skye stay on the Bus and I come as backup for you?"

Ward agreed with him wholeheartedly, but Coulson replied calmly "We need Skye to convince Miles to come in. I don't think Miles would react very well to having agents turning up on his doorstep. We aren't planning on holding him hostage, we just need his help. If he resists then well," Coulson shrugged, "that's when we bring in the backup. Any questions?" Once again, an awkward silence fell over the group. Skye was still glaring daggers at Ward across the room. "Well then, let's get going, shall we?"

* * *

Being alone in a van with the Cavalry was intimidating to say the least. When they had pulled up around the corner from Miles's apartment block, a dreary grey-painted stack of apartments dotted with tiny glass windows, Coulson had suggested that a less intimidating approach might be more effective in convincing the hacker to cooperate ("after all, we did abandon him in a foreign country with no money"). Despite Ward's protests, Coulson had insisted that May stay with Ward in the van while him and Skye went into the apartment. Ward had watched them walk away, every step making him increasingly worried. He couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled over him since they'd left.

And Skye still hadn't talked to him since they had left the Bus.

He couldn't stop replaying the encounter over and over in his head as he waited. He had been stupid, about to argue against Miles's involvement when his own crimes had been so much more horrendous. Why wouldn't she trust Miles more than him? She'd had every right to react the way she did. May wasn't providing any support, just sitting behind the wheel staring out the windshield, determined to ignore his presence. Time ticked by slowly, and Ward felt his unease grow. They shouldn't've been taking this long, right? But Skye was with Coulson, she'd be safe.

Ward was still battling with his conflicting emotions when the silence of the van was shattered by Skye's devastatingly terrified screams echoing through the radio communications.

He was out of his seat before he knew it, throwing open the van door and sprinting across the street towards the building. He distantly heard the sounds of May following him, but all he could focus on was the lingering echoes of Skye's scream and the way her fear had seemed to pierce his very soul. And then he had slammed open the door to the building and thrown himself up the stairs, taking them two at a time. _Third floor_, he remembered from before, _the apartment was on the third floor_, _and Skye, oh god Skye, what had happened? Where was Coulson? What if-what if-_ .He forced himself not to picture her body on the floor, bleeding out from two bullets in the stomach.

Only later would he remember arriving at the right floor and kicking the door inwards with such force that it cracked off its hinges. His eyes took in the room and landed on Coulson desperately trying to comfort a paralyzed Skye as she stared with an absolute horror into the next room. In barely a moment he had crossed the distance and taken Skye's face in his hands, checking her quickly for signs of injury. Finding none and trusting the fact that Coulson and May could handle any imminent threat, he pulled her shaking body to his and murmured softly into her hair, simply assuring himself that Skye was here and hadn't been harmed.

Only after his mind had calmed slightly from the whirlwind of panic did Ward question as to why Skye was allowing him to hold her like this, why she hadn't pulled away with disgust or glared at him. But as he looked beyond where they were standing and into the bedroom, Ward found his answer.

It was a small room, only large enough to hold a single bed pushed into the corner and stack of boxes precariously supporting a laptop and empty cartons of Chinese food. There was a small window on the far side, covered with fraying blue curtains which bathed the room in a dark glow.

The whole scene would have been depressing enough, even without the body of Miles Lydon lying on the bed, sitting in a dark stain of his own blood.

* * *

**So, I just realised that it's kinda creepy writing a murder scene. Who would've thought? hahaha**

**I'm sorry that I'm repeating myself again, but I'm a huge perfectionist with my writing and I'm not too happy with how this story is turning out. I'm not asking for reassurances, I just want to know what you guys honestly think. Being my first fanfic and all, I'm not so sure how this stuff works so you guys are pretty much the first people ever who have read anything I've written, so anything you say means... a lot... like seriously. **

**Okay, well, another thousand thank you's for reading! **

**-F**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, **

**I'm truly really really sorry for the two weeks it took me to update. But good news- I'm on school holiday for three weeks so- hopefully- updates will be a lot more frequent now :) A huge thank you for anyone who reviewed (special thanks to the people who pointed out that Hong Kong isn't in Japan. I would say I was testing you guys but well, who am I kidding? I just suck at geo). Anyway, again a huge thank you to anyone who takes the time to read. **

Chapter five)

Ward swallowed.

By no means was it the first body had he ever seen, but it was definitely up there in terms of gruesomeness. Miles hadn't been shot, or stabbed, or anything that would resemble a gracious death, if there ever was one. No, he had been killed brutally with his throat slit open. He put his hand on the back of Skye's head, making sure that she didn't have to see the jagged red line that streaked across Miles's throat, the way his clothes and bed had been stained dark with blood, or that his eyes stared lifelessly towards some distant point the rest of the world couldn't see. He was surprised when Skye didn't flinch from his contact, instead burying her head in his chest.

Ward hesitated. He knew that she was only allowing him to hold her because she was falling apart and he had been the closest one to her, but at that moment his brain was so numb with the relief that Skye was in his arms and hadn't been hurt that not even a direct order from Coulson couldn't make him let go.

"Phil." The way in which May used Coulson's first name like a warning was enough to have Ward protectively hugging Skye closer to him. He looked back over his shoulder and saw what had May so concerned. He'd been so caught up in making sure Skye was alright that he hadn't spotted the message scrawled on the wall in bright red- blood, Ward's head told him even as he tried to deny it. '_Are you watching closely?_' was what had been said to them earlier, was what had driven them to seek out Miles in the first place. And now they had been provided with a second staggering message.

_'The past is written in blood after all.'_ Underneath the writing was a single bloody handprint.

Coulson's face was grim when he turned back, and that frown only deepened when he saw Ward holding Skye so closely. "Skye?" Coulson said as he approached slowly.

Ward felt her tense in his arms, and sighed, realizing that his brief moment of pretending was over. He unhooked her hands from where they had bunched in his shirt and took a step backward. Skye took a shuddering breath and wiped her eyes. "Let's go," she said in such a vulnerable voice that it took all of Ward's willpower not to gather her small form in his arms again. She turned her back on the horrible scene and, without looking at any of their faces, walked back out the door. May followed her out after a solemn nod from Coulson.

Ward waited until after they had left before turning to the Coulson. "What the hell is this?" he questioned angrily, gesturing towards the writing on the wall.

Coulson's face was grim. "Someone got to Miles before we did."

"_Who_ got to him? What do they want with her?" Ward's fear for Skye was making him frustrated.

Coulson looked at him sharply. "What did Raina ever tell you of Skye's parents?"

That took Ward back. "She told me they were monsters, that they had massacred an entire village looking for their kid. You think they're responsible for this?"

Coulson turned around to look at the message dripping blood down the wall. Ward had never thought of him as old before- you never could think of someone like that when they still knew about ten ways to kill you with a pen- but at that moment he looked as if he held the weight of the world on his shoulders. "I hope not," he said quietly, "if they killed hundreds trying to find her before, what's to stop them now? I don't-" he stopped suddenly. "Do you smell something?"

Ward sniffed the air once, confirming what his brain had already guessed. "Gas," he concluded, "I smell gas."

He scanned the room, and out of the corner of his eye spotted it- a small flicker of flame. His mind went into overdrive, but even so he barely had enough time to grab Coulson and yank him down to the ground before the apartment exploded into a whirlwind of debris and flames.

And then right before darkness overtook his vision, once his world stopped shaking and all he could see was the swirling clouds of dust, he let himself imagine that it was Skye's voice he could hear, desperately calling his name.

* * *

The first thing Ward realised when he returned to consciousness was that he couldn't move. Panic raced through him and he struggled against whatever was holding his wrists down. Distantly, he heard a furious beeping from one of the machines around him but the only sound that registered was his heart drumming in his ears.

"Ward," he heard softly. His head jerked towards the sound of the voice and he watched closely as Simmons walked slowly towards him. "You're back on the Bus," she said in a cautious voice. She stepped closer to his side and undid the ties holding his wrists down. "Sorry about the restraints, you wouldn't stop moving when they bought you in."

He lifted up a limp hand and tugged away the breath mask covering his mouth. "Skye?" he rasped, surprised at the dryness of his own voice.

She gave a small and tentative smile. "Skye's fine. May kept her safe," the scientist looked down, her fingers played with the paper she held in her hands and when she spoke again, it was rushed and nervous. "Coulson, ah, he told us you pulled him down when the room exploded."

Ward didn't really know how to respond to that- so he asked instead "is he alright?"

Jemma nodded frantically. "Oh yes- he's fine. His oxygen stats were a bit low when he returned but not nearly on the same caliber as yours, but I guess that could have something to do with the location and frequency of the tremors. Also he suffered a few abrasions from the-"

"Simmons," Ward interrupted.

She released a breath. "I'm sorry," she said, wringing her hands, "Just nervous."

"I can tell."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you, for helping Coulson."

Ward just nods, not trusting himself to not say anything which could ruin this precarious moment I which Simmons has willingly stepped forward to talk to him. And for that moment, everything seemed okay between them.

And then that moment ended. Jemma pulled away, averting her eyes. "I'll, ah," she said quietly, "I'll come back soon. You can go once your oxygen readings have gone back up."

"Just tell me," he said quickly, trying to get back the honesty that had been between them only seconds before. "How's Skye, really."

The young scientist sighed. "She just saw her oldest friend murdered. She's shaken, blaming herself, won't let any of us near her." She looked at Ward closely. "Maybe she'd talk to someone she doesn't want to talk to."

Ward released a small, breathless laugh. "I'm the last one she'd want to see to right now."

Jemma shrugged. "I think you'd be surprised."

* * *

The second Simmons gives him the go ahead, Ward is out of the infirmary and racing toward the cargo bay mere seconds later. He'd never been too fond of hospitals and only ever visited them in situation like this; ones when he wasn't in control. Besides, he felt fine. Aside from a slight lightheadedness when he moved his head too quickly, and the fact that his whole body felt like one giant bruise, he could almost have believed that a building hadn't just dropped down on his head.

Trip was leaning against the metal railing when Ward walked into the cargo hold. The younger specialist looked up as Ward approached, and then returned his gaze to the area below. Ward took his lack of protest as permission to come closer.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them, until Trip said suddenly "you know, I never would've guessed it about you." A familiar sense of unease fell over Ward. "I mean sure," Trip continued, "I knew nothing about you except that you could shoot a gun and didn't get along with people. But I never placed you as such a damn good actor on top of it all."

Ward didn't answer. He clenched his hands onto the railing and looked straight ahead.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Trip shrug. "But I guess you never really know what's going on inside someone's head, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now, would ya Ward?" He nodded his head towards Skye, who Ward had just spotted sitting curled up against the wall on the ground below them. "That's girls family, so you better not be acting anymore."

To Ward's ears, that sounded almost like forgiveness, and for a moment all he can do is stand there and stare dumfounded at the man who he has known for so little but has decided to give him another chance.

Trip smiled. "But I think you've got to get her back first, man," he gives Ward a shove-not too gently- towards the stairs. "Now would be a good time to start." He watched Ward slowly walk down the stairs before he turned and walked back further into the plane.

Skye made no movement as Ward approached cautiously. She remained curled up in a ball against the far wall, her arms around her knees and her eyes trained to the ground. There were no tears in her eyes, but there was a visible tremor in her limbs that had Ward worried even more.

Broken isn't a word that he would use to describe Skye. She's usually so full of life and laughter that it would be impossible to see her as anything less. There had been exceptions, of course; on her first solo mission infiltrating Quinn's party there had been real fear in her eyes when he had saved her from the guards. Or again, in Italy, when they'd found her bleeding out on the cellar floor. All of those times had bought a wave of protectiveness in Ward that he hadn't felt in a long time. And he felt it again then, that same need to gather her up in his arms and protect her from everything the world seems determined to keep throwing at her. But he couldn't, he knew he couldn't. This wasn't like any of those times and he certainly wasn't deluded enough to think that the one hug back in Miles's apartment had meant anything.

No, Skye was much too smart to trust him again so soon.

"I know you don't want to talk to me," he said slowly as he approached. "But Skye, I need to talk to you. I need to know that you're dealing with this."

She rolled her eyes up to look at him, and the despair there hit him like a bullet. "Why?" she choked out. "Why do you need to know? You're not my SO anymore, you lost that right a long time ago."

"I know that," he accepted.

She let out a slow breath and fixed her eyes back on the floor. "I met him when I was nineteen."

Ward just stands there. He had no need to ask who she was talking about. Loss was written plain on her face.

"At the time, he just seemed so perfect," she continued. "I had just cut ties with everyone from the orphanage, just got my van, just started learning everything about what groups like SHIELD did. And here's this boy telling me all the things I wanted to hear; that the government was corrupt and keeping secrets from the people, things which we needed to know. He taught me almost everything I know, and in a way, I guess, he bought me to SHIELD," she swept her hands through her hair. "There was a time when I would've done anything for him; he was all I had."

"You loved him," Ward stated. Learning her history with Miles wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind, but it was clear she needed to get it out of her system. She was talking, and that's all that really mattered to him.

"I guess I did. But you know what I think? I think people's capacity for love changes. I was a teenager when I met him, of course I fell hard. But God, I was so stupid back then. I could've stopped so many people getting hurt but I didn't! Cos I was a stupid girl with a crush that didn't see him for who he truly was and now he's dead and I hate him, Ward. I hate him! I hate-"

She started punch the floor with her fists as tears which she had tried desperately to hold fell down her pale cheeks. Without another thought, Ward had pulled her into his arms and held her close to his body while she sobbed onto his shoulder. But just like before, he felt her tense in his arms and pull away.

"No, no, no, no. You can't do this," she yelled, her voice raising. "You can't be all… you again. Cos it's not true! You're a liar and a murder and a backstabbing traitor and there's nothing you can say that will undo it Grant! You can't just waltz back on in here and expect everything to go back to the way it was before, expect that I still love you, cos I don't Ward! I don't!"

And then in one moment it was like she lost all her energy; her legs collapsed and Ward had to lunge forward to catch her before she hit the ground hard. Her fingers dug into his shoulder. "He's dead," she said breathlessly. "Miles's is dead and it's all my fault."

"No," Ward told her firmly. He tilted her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. "Don't think for a second that you're to blame for this."

Fresh tears spilled down her face. "What do they want from me?" she said in a voice struggling to mask the fear.

"I don't know. But I promise, Skye, I promise, that we'll find out. We'll keep you safe."

Skye fell silent, her eyes scanning his face looking for… what? A hint that he was lying? Something that would convince her of what her mind was trying to convey, that he couldn't be trusted? He kept still, letting her come to her own conclusion.

"I told you once," she said slowly, "that I'll never understand why you did those things, and I hold by that. I'm not a good enough person to forgive you for what you've done. But maybe- maybe- I can learn to live with you again."

And for the moment, that's all Ward needed to hear.

* * *

Coulson was watching Ward and Skye on the security feed from his office when Trip walked in. May was hovering over his shoulder like a hawk, and Coulson suppressed a smile. She cared more for the young hacker than she acted and was fiercely protective over her, particularly when it came to Ward.

"Ward just went to talk to Skye," Trip said as he came into the office.

"I know," Coulson said simply, nodding his head towards his laptop.

"I'm surprised you're letting him near her," Trip replied, surprised.

"No," Coulson corrected, "Skye's letting him near her."

"And you're completely fine with that?"

Coulson returned his gaze to the screen's monitor. His impression of their former specialist had become extremely conflicted of late. Ward had undoubtedly saved him from serious injury this afternoon in Miles's apartment. And then there was all he had been recently told about Ward's past…

"I don't want to watch her get hurt anymore," Trip continued.

"Then Ward isn't our concern," Coulson told them. "I trust him with her, and that's all I need to know at this time. What does concern me is whoever killed Miles Lydon. They blew up an apartment with us still in it. I'm pissed off."

"The same people that sent us the first picture of Skye," May clarified.

"Undoubtedly."

"Well that narrows it down then," Trip said, rolling his eyes. "Was there another message?"

"'The past is written in blood after all'", May recited, her face devoid of emotion.

"Even creepier than the last one," Trip muttered.

Coulson turned to May. "I'm guessing you saw it too."

The woman nodded. "It was written in fresh blood. The kill was recent too."

"The son of a bitch knew we were coming," Trip guessed, looking around at the two older agent's faces for confirmation. "Forget about Hydra; cut off one Clairvoyant's head, another two takes its place."

* * *

**So all of you that have seen the season finale should know the significance of a bloody hand... if not, I guess now's a really bad time to warn for spoilers. Anyway, thank you all so so so much for reading, and if you could review just to let me know what you think, it would make my day. Seriously. **

**Talk to ya guys soon, kay? **

**-F**


	6. Chapter 6

**Howdy hooligans, huge thanks to anyone who reviewed, any comments or thoughts are amazing! This was originally supposed to be a small part of the next chapter, but it turned out to be a bit longer than I imagined, so instead it might seem like nothing happens much in this chapter, but its important... trust me :P **

Chapter six)

Night fell over quickly on the Bus. Everyone, exhausted by the events of the day and still recovering from several injuries, returned to their rooms early, mutually agreeing to miss dinner in favor of losing themselves in sleep. Ward had been told that Trip had taken his old room, so instead he was given one of the holding cells- complete with a few more blankets to make it a bit less like a prison. Besides, apparently the device around his wrist had been programmed to prevent him from entering any of the teams' living quarters. Ward didn't mind though; maybe a bit of isolation would allow him to sort through the mess in his head and work on his promise to Skye: figuring out why she was being hunted.

However, although his cell back at SHIELD had been far smaller, Ward felt cramped in this new room. He lay on the bed and desperately wished that the images in his brain would stop spinning and he might be able to get some sleep for a change. It was probably around 2am when he realised just how hopeless this was, and instead decided to put his insomnia to good use and get some training in. He'd managed to retain some of his fitness during his time in his cell, but it had been months since he'd done any combat exercises.

The muted lighting guided him as he crept through the plane. It was practically dead quiet, except for the distant roar of the engines, and Ward had every intention of making as little noise as possible. He didn't expect anyone, even May, to be awake at this time, which was why he was surprised to hear the whisper of voices as he passed by the girl's bunks.

He stopped in his tracks by the door, conflicted. The last thing he wanted was to be caught hanging outside Skye's room like a lovesick teenager but there was a voice inside his head that told him that he'd want to hear what was being said on the other side of the door.

He recognized Skye's voice instantly. "Shh, Jem," she said, "its fine, you're fine. You're not there anymore. You and Fitz are back on the Bus and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, alright?"

Simmons's voice was quieter, uncertain. "I know you will, Skye, but what about Fitz? He's- something's different about him and… I'm scared what he'll do if something happens to anyone else."

"He is different," Skye admitted. "But can you blame him if he's angry about what happened? He's got you, Jem, you're the one thing that's keeping him grounded right now."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about! I don't want there to be just _one_ thing. What if I can't be there? What if I say or do the wrong thing and it just sends him-"

"Hey, shhh, calm down. You don't have to do anything, you just have to be _you_. That's all he needs right now. He'll learn to open up to the rest of us with time."

"Do you really think so?" Jemma said almost desperately.

"I know so," and Ward could hear the smile on Skye's voice, "and you know what a winner I am at relationships. I mean, look at my track record of past boyfriends. Unbeatable."

"I'm sorry, we've been focusing on me the entire time when you have much worse things going on. How are you feeling about Miles?"

"I- I don't know. I feel like it's stupid to feel sad about him when he practically sold someone to the slaughterhouse."

"He was one of your oldest friends, Skye," Simmons said soothingly. "No matter what he did, you can mourn that side of him, the one you loved."

"Yeah, I guess," Skye's tone made it clear she didn't want to talk about Miles.

"And Ward?" Jemma said uncertainly. "How do we know we can trust him?"

"We can't," was Skye's simple reply. "No matter what he does, a part of me will always hate him."

Ward's blood ran cold. Yep, he definitely didn't want to hear this but still something, some small part of his mind, kept him rooted in place.

"But," she continued, "I've been thinking about what Coulson told us; about… his brother and Garret and everything that happened before he joined SHIELD. It's like he was brainwashed into truly believing he owed Garret everything. He wasn't loyal to Hydra, he was loyal to the man which gave him a new life. It's sad and horrible but… sorta brave at the same time. He was so blindingly faithful to someone that he would do anything for him."

"Too bad that person was a psychotic half-robot killing machine."

Skye chuckled. "Yeah, it was."

"When did you get so smart?" Ward heard Simmons ask.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I put on the whole teen-fangirl act so that I can simply astound everyone later?"

"Not once."

Skye, laughing, said "Good answer."

On the other side of the door, Ward stood, absolutely floored by what he just overheard. He couldn't begin to fathom how Skye had managed to understand him. No- not understand, _accept_. She'd proved on multiple accounts in the past the ability to understand someone's thought processes and actions, but this was a totally different league. She had no reason to have anything more to do with him, and yet somehow she was willing to see his side of the story. And that completely staggers the older specialist.

Ward was snapped out of his daze by the sound of approaching footsteps. He jerked his head up, fists rising automatically into a defensive position- before relaxing once he saw that it was Coulson walking towards him. "Apparently no one sleeps on this plane anymore," Ward said in an attempt to make light what could've potentially been a very awkward situation.

There was no reply.

"Coulson," Ward repeated. The older man didn't even look at him. He walked past and continued down the hall in a slow, measured pace.

The ice cold feeling that he got right before a kill swept through Ward. His senses screamed at him that something was wrong. Coulson could've been sleepwalking, but his eyes were eerily open; glassy and unfocused, and no matter what Ward said it was like nothing penetrated his dream-like state.

Ward followed the agent back down the hall, fully prepared to shake Coulson back to his senses, when he heard a voice.

"You can't do anything."

Ward spun around, hand clenched into a fist, and found Skye staring back at him.

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? You didn't hear me coming? You need to work on your spatial awareness."

He blinked at her. That was something he had repeatedly told her when he was her SO. She rolled her eyes and shoved past him before following Coulson down the silent plane. Ward hesitated for only a second before chasing after her.

"What the hell's wrong with him?" he asked Skye, taking long strides to catch up to her. "Why can't he hear us?"

Skye shrugged. "No idea. Found him walking around one of the first nights at the Playgro-_Hub_. At the Hub."

Ward didn't comment on her slip-up. Showing an interest in one of SHIELD's secret bases probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do. Instead, he asked "and he does this every night?"

Skye bit her lip, a haunted look in her eyes. "Not exactly. Most of the time he just walks around like a zombie," they turned a corner, and came into an area of the Bus that Ward had never seen before, "other times, he does this."

Ward stared in shock. In front of him was a giant pane of glass, several metres across and rising far above his head. The once-smooth surface had been marred by hundreds upon hundreds of etchings and carvings; lines and interlinking circles and other symbols which seemed so alien in the otherwise modern environment. Coulson stood in front the glass, not moving, just staring at the carvings with wide, unseeing eyes.

But the worst part about it was that Ward had seen the writing before.

He took an unsteady step backwards as the weight of several memories-ones from a time he had been trying to block out- were forced into his head again. _Garret, scratching lines and circles onto the glass from a window. Garret, a crazed look of ecstatic joy on his face as he tore out a man's rib. 'I can see the world, Ward,' he had proclaimed. _

"Ward?"

_Garret ordering him to take care of Fitzsimmons, the approval on his face when Ward told him it was taken care of. _

"Ward! Hey, snap out of it!"

He gasped, and fell headfirst back into reality. The first thing he noticed was that Skye's hands were on his shoulders, keeping him from falling backwards into a stack of boxes and her face was inches from his own. Seeing realization return to his eyes, she released him and took a step backward, her eyes wide.

"What was that?" she said slowly, her voice full of confusion.

He took a deep steadying breath and clenched his hands in an attempt to hide how much they were shaking. "It's nothing, I'm fine," he said. He was quite impressed at how calm he sounded.

Skye's eyes glinted suspiciously in the half-light. "You know, you used to be a much better liar."

Ward looked away. In an attempt to change the subject, he asked "does anyone else know about… this?" He gestured vaguely towards where Coulson stood like an eerie statue.

Skye was still staring at him. "May does," she said slowly. "Nothing goes on in this plane without her knowing."

"Okay, that's fine, but you need to keep it that way, Skye, alright? No one else can know about this. It's important."

"Why?" she asked, startled at the intensity of his voice. She drew in a sharp breath. "Do you know what this is?"

Ward bit his lip, torn between his unsaid promise to never lie to her again and a wish to not worry her when it wasn't necessary. "We have no idea what this is," he said finally, keeping his voice even. "We don't know why, or how, or who might be interested in this. The less people that know about this, the better."

"But Coulson-"

"Wouldn't want us jumping into something else we don't know anything about."

There was a long silence, in which Ward found himself holding his breath, waiting to see what Skye would do. Finally, she grit her teeth and said "fine, but this does not mean I trust you."

Ward nodded, the conversation he'd overheard between her and Simmons still playing over in his mind.

Skye walked over to the nearest wall and slid down so she was sitting cross-legged against it. "Get some sleep, Ward," she said quietly.

Ward didn't bother arguing that she needed rest more, if her slumped shoulders and dark eyes were anything to go by. But she was looking out for Coulson, and Ward knew that nothing could make her leave the person she looked up to like a father. "Are you going to be fine?" he asked quietly.

She looked up at him, and he marveled at the fact that no matter how tired or sad she was, her eyes always seemed so bright. "I'm gonna stay here," she said, "make sure he doesn't do anything more like a character from Paranormal Activity."

Ward hid a smirk, because in this situation nothing should be amusing and yet Skye was still able to joke around. When he had first met her that had irritated him, the fact that she took nothing seriously, but now it just made her seem strong, unbreakable.

He walked away, leaving Coulson in her very capable hands. When he returned to his bunk he allowed some of the panic he hidden before show. He paced around the room, thinking about what he had just learnt and how it might tie in with everything that had been going on, because if he had learnt one thing in being an agent, it was that nothing happened without a reason.

Had Coulson always been acting like this- ever since the TAHITI project? But they'd been living on the same plane in close proximity for months, and Ward wasn't exactly a stranger to midnight musings; surely if Coulson had been walking around at night drawing strange symbols on a wall someone would have realised before now. So what had changed? What had suddenly bought about this sudden surge of abnormal behavior?

If Coulson was showing some of the same effects as Garret had, the only thing they had in common was the exposure to GH-325. Something in that drug was making them act like this, like they had a closer tie to its alien source. But then why hadn't Skye shown some of the same signs? Something to do with her parents?

Ward continued to muse over these questions till even right before he fell into an uneasy sleep. Needless to say his dreams were haunted by Garret that night.

* * *

**So, there's another chapter. I apologize again if it was a bit boring, but the next part should get the story going again.**

**Anyways, review? Please? :)**

**Thanks heaps**

**-F**


	7. Chapter 7

**Massive sorry for the time it took to update, big thanks for you guys for being so patient and for any and all reviews :) On with that chapter then, shall we? **

Chapter seven)

"Wake up."

Ward's eyes shot open and a fraction of a second later he had sat up and reached for the weapon that he always kept underneath his pillow- before he remembered where he was and that he hadn't had access to a weapon in three months. For the first few weeks of his imprisonment they hadn't even given him a fork for fear he would stage an elaborate jailbreak like in Shawshank redemption or something.

His quick scan of the room showed him that it was only May who had woken him, and was now standing in front of the closed door with her usual Cavalry-death-glare plastered on her face.

He flopped back on the bed. "I assume you're here to kill me for real this time," he waved a hand absently in the air above his head. "Please, just get on with it so I can sleep."

"I see prison made you dramatic."

Ward swung his legs to the floor and sat up. "No," he said simply. "That's not dramatic. What's dramatic is you barging into my room for the second time in a week and then standing there expecting me to figure out why."

"Would it have had the same impact if I knocked first?"

"Definitely not."

"Then it works."

Ward laughed, once, bitterly, but all the same it surprised him that May could elicit such a sound from him. No emotion broke past May's carefully constructed shield, but she took a few steps closer into the room.

"Last night; I assume Skye told you about Coulson," the older agent stated.

"She did."

"And what do you think about it?"

"I think you need to know one thing."

May quirked one eyebrow, the only outward sign that she was interested. "And what, exactly, is that?" she said slowly, carefully.

Ward swallowed, preparing himself to share memories that he was only just beginning to confront himself. And with Melinda May of all people. He hadn't even told his therapist about that time, despite her best efforts to make him 'share the load.'

He cleared his throat. "Back on the Bus, with Garret and Raina, when she injected him with the GH-325 it didn't just save his life. It changed him. I know Coulson would've told you that he lost his mind, that he began spouting out crap like he was God. But it was more than that. I knew that man for more than 10 years and I've never seen him act how he did after that drug." Ward didn't want to admit how hard it was for him to refer to Garret in the past tense. Somehow he didn't think it'd go down very well. "I watched him rip apart a man with his bare hands but before that, he started drawing those same symbols."

He watched May's eyes darken with anger. Her hand at her side twitched, and he had to stop himself from taking a step back for fear she would suddenly lash out. But for the first time in a while, Ward didn't think that anger was directed at him. No, she was just angry at the world, for throwing yet another thing at them to fix, and this one at Coulson, who Ward knew everyone was fiercely protective over. "We'll deal with it when it comes," was all she finally managed to say.

Ward knew enough not to ask how they were going to achieve that when they didn't even know why Coulson and Garret had acted like this in the first place. Instead he nodded and watched May stride out of the room with a cold look that would've sent Fury himself flinching at.

Ward sighed and rubbed a hand across his eyes. He felt exhausted enough to fall right back asleep again, but he knew that wasn't possible. He had to talk to Skye, he had to find Coulson, and he had to… do a thousand things which unfortunately did not involve falling back onto the bed.

He sat up quickly when May opened his door again. "And Ward," she said firmly, "don't repeat to Skye what you just told me."

Ward wanted to protest, wanted to stand up to the older agent and say that Skye deserved to know. But then he remembered how tired she had looked the night before and just how many things she'd had to deal with over the past few months, and found himself nodding in agreement.

Reluctantly, and with much protest from his aching muscles, he slid off the bed and went off in search of some much-needed coffee and after that, hopefully, his brain would be alert enough to think about what they needed to do next.

* * *

Meanwhile Skye was lost in the monotonous rhythm of attacking the punching bag, something that required very little brain power for which she was thankful. It'd been around 5.30 when the Coulson-sleepwalker-thing had returned to his room, which by her reckoning was too late (too early?) for her to get some sleep. All that would happen would be that someone would need her half an hour later and she'd wake up feeling worse than she was now. Skye knew that she would crash sometime soon, but she was hoping excessive amounts of coffee loaded with sugar- a habit she had never grown out of- might postpone that a bit.

Hearing someone shout her name loudly, Skye turned, pulling out her headphones and wiping her forehead with her wrapped hands. "What's up, Fitz?" she said upon seeing the scientist. "Where's Jem?"

"Having a shower," he answered, making his way down the spiral staircase to where she stood.

"Hey, I found this awesome ninja-move on YouTube yesterday," she jabbed playfully at his shoulder. "Want me to shoooow ya?"

"Maybe later," he replied impatiently.

Skye looked up, suddenly on edge from Fitz's brush off comment and the fact that he was standing in front of her clenching and unclenching his fists every few seconds. "What's going on, Fitz?" she asked cautiously, resisting the impulse to take a step away from him.

Fitz looked her dead in the eye. "What happened with you and Ward last night?"

"What?" Skye gasped, startled. "What happened with me and… what?"

"You. And. Ward," he repeated, stepping closer to her, close enough for Skye to see the half-crazed look in his eyes. She felt a sliver of fear. Fitz had moments like this, moments when he scared even Jemma with some of the things he said about revenge and hate. "You two weren't nearly as quiet as you thought," he continued, "sneaking off into the night like that."

"Fitz, it wasn't anything like what you're thinking." If this was any other situation, at any other time, it would've almost been funny. In some twisted way she couldn't help but feel like a rebellious teenager, caught after sneaking out with her boyfriend.

"Good," Fitz replied. " Because the last time Ward was on this plane and we trusted him, Jemma and I ended up at the bottom of the ocean. I'm not going to let you fall in love with that monster again."

Skye gasped. "Let me? _Let me_? You can't let me fall in love with him even more than I can. It's not like a switch you can turn on and off."

Fitz clenched his jaw. "He's a murderer."

"You think I don't know that?" she exclaimed. "You think I've forgotten all that he's done?"

"You're acting like it."

"Don't you think there's more to the story than just what happened three months ago?"

"That's what you want to think. That's what all of you want to think. But I haven't forgotten. He looked us in the eye and let us fall to the bottom of the ocean."

"It was supposed to float, Fitz!" Skye yelled, "You said that yourself!" She stepped back and ran a hand through her sweaty hair. For some reason, she always ended up saying that. It was like some desperate attempt at defending- not Ward exactly, more the fact that she hadn't been completely stupid as to fall in love with a murdering psychopath.

She took a breath. "I've had enough Fitz. I know it was your own personal hell in that pod. I know that it was the freakin' abyss in your life but _that_ is why they call it the bottom. Because you have to move on, stop letting it dominate your life, and build on top of it," she stepped closer so she was looking him dead in the eye. "You have to stop defining your life around what happened that day and open your eyes and realise that Simmons is right in front of you. She's not dead. You're not dead. You're both alivebut that means you have to_ live_, Fitz. You have to accept that Ward is torturing himself enough without the rest of the world piling it on top of him too."

"I can't accept that," Fitz snarled.

"And I can't accept this person you've become. Out of the whole team, you had the most faith. You stubbornly refused to believe Ward had betrayed us even when I was screaming at you to see it."

"Look where that go-"

"And we need that person back," she interrupted. Skye needed him to hear this; she had to make him understand. "The one that believed that no one is born evil, Fitz, we need. Him. Back. Because the rest of us could use hope right now."

And she swears she could see Fitz break right before her eyes as he said quietly "I don't think I know what hope is anymore."

"Hey, look at me," Skye put her hands on his shoulders. "Hope," she said quietly, "is fighting for the person we knew, and praying that he's still there somewhere."

Fitz stared at her for a few seconds before gathering her in his arms. "I'm sorry, Skye. I'm so sorry," he whispered in her hair.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Fitz," she whispered, somewhat muffled against his shoulder.

They clung to each other for an unmeasurable amount of time, taking comfort in each other and the fact that out of the whole team, they were the ones that had been most affected by Ward's betrayal.

"Fitz," May's voice rang out through the room, startling them both. They looked up to see her standing stoically on the stairs. "Simmons wanted you in the control room," she said in an even voice.

Fitz nodded and gave Skye one last look before walking towards the staircase.

Skye turned back to the punching bag and gave it one weak slap. She could feel May's gaze boring into her back and asked "how much did you hear?"

"Enough."

Skye sighed before giving the bag a fierce kick, stumbling slightly as she did.

"You need to keep your weight more centered."

Slightly irked, Skye turned to the older agent. "Sorry, but my SO went to the dark side before we could get to learning the proper way to kick something."

May remained unfazed. She knew Skye wasn't truly angry at her, more at the direction her life had taken during the past few months. She had found somewhere she belonged, a home, but that sense of security had been taken from her by one of the people she trusted most. And then more recently, when she had found one of her oldest friends with his throat slit open by someone who hunted her for reasons they didn't understand yet. It was enough to make the strongest person break, May knew that personally.

She suddenly decided that teaching Skye to fight- properly, not the brawn-over-brain way that Ward had- might not be such a bad idea. "Keep your knees bent," she instructed, moving closer to the young agent. "That way your centre of gravity is much lower so if I do _this_," she shoved Skye in the shoulder, making her stumble back a few steps. "_that_ won't happen."

Skye righted herself and resumed punching the bag with, May noticed with approval, a much better stance. She moved around to Skye's front. "Keep your chin down," she said next, tapping it gently. "You're just asking for a knockout punch if you keep it up like that. And swing more from the hips. You'll gain more power in your swing that way."

Skye stared at her with wide eyes. "What are you doing?" she asked silently.

"I'm teaching you how to survive," May replied simply.

Skye's eyebrows furrowed. "But why now? You've watched me train hundreds of times, why are you helping me now?"

May shrugged. "Maybe I'm taking pity on you."

"Maybe you want to show Ward up as an SO," Skye corrected. May acknowledged this with a dip of her head and Skye chuckled.

For the next hour the two practiced several different styles and moves, usually with a running commentary of improvements from May. Skye, despite the strenuous exercise, found herself relaxing for what felt like the first time in days. Over the past few months she had been using practice as a way to override her emotional mess on the inside; the resulting physical pain from training was much better than what she felt towards Ward. But with May it was like she didn't have the time to think about anything except the movement, and she didn't feel like she was about to collapse under the weight of Ward's return, or Miles' death or what had happened to Fitzsimmons. She didn't have to think of anything.

So it took a while for her to notice Coulson's presence, standing a couple of feet away from them. She stopped suddenly, panting heavily and her hair plastered across her forehead, and studied him carefully. He had a somber expression on his face, but nothing else, nothing that told her he remembered anything that had happened the night before.

"We got a lead on who killed Miles," he said finally.

* * *

**So I'm not too sure how I feel about that chapter, but anyways, we'll go with it. **

**Please let me know what you guys think, or just any ideas of what you want to see happen :)**

**Thanks a lot,**

**-F**


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